When the Brother Survives: Scourge
by timecats
Summary: After the Battle of BloodClan everyone thought Scourge had been killed by Firestar. Bloodclan was disbanded but Scourge was brought to the space between Starclan and the Dark Forest to be judged. They find him worthy and they will grant him another life. Scourge has to live in a world that fears him for the deeds he had done, yet there are those who wish for him to destroy the Clan
1. Prologue: Judgement

He woke up in a strange place where cats had stars in their fur and there were some on the other side, although faded, Scourge could tell that they were watching with looks interest and deceit. '_Come on wake up already, none of this is real!_'

"We assure you Tiny, that this is very real and you are in Starclan to recieve judgement," a blue-grey she-cat with stars in her fur spoke, "I remember you, that day when Tigerstar attacked you on a patrol."

"You…NO STARCLAN DOESN'T EXIST!"

"You saw Firestar come back before he killed you, we are very real Scourge," a grey cat with a yellow fang mewed, "We know why all this happened, it brings us to that day when Tigerstar attacked you."

Scourge looked around, he refused to believe that he died, after all, he was standing right there and is fine. Scourge pleaded to himself to wake up from this nightmare before a familiar presence came behind him.

"Once a kittypet always a kittypet, Firestar and Cloudtail are no different, why even bother with trying to save this kittypet!"

"Go back to the Dark Forest Tigerstar and fade from existence!" the blue she-cat yowled.

"Bluestar, I could just kill you again if you'd like, or will falling to dogs again be a better death?!" Tigerstar growled at Bluestar, "Fine I shall take my leave, it isn't like I can cross into Starclan after all yet mark my words the clans will suffer."

"Sorry for the interruption Scourge, yet you will have to travel through your past so we can determine if you should come back from the dead," the grey she-cats gaze grew fierce, "Keep an eye on where ties entangle, for you shall see the truth


	2. Chapter 1: Painful Memories

When he woke up he heard his mother, Quince, call out to his siblings.

'_You two need to stop treating your brother like that_'

'_But mom, he is such a little pipsqueak!_'

'_Yeah, we don't like him_'

Scourge cringed as he remembered when his siblings talked about him, the memory was painful but not as painful as the ones to come.

'_You know what happens to unwanted kittens, they get thrown in the river_."

"NO, I don't want to be thrown in the river," he suddenly yowled out loud before he saw a younger version of himself running out into the forest, "No don't go that way, Tigerstar...Tigerpaw will..."

'_What are you doing here, this is Thunderclan territory_'

'_I think the kittypet needs to be taught a lesson, one he'll remember_'

'_Stop this at once, he is only a kit_'

'_You will never forget me_'

Scourge unsheathed his claws and tried to dig his claws deep into the ground only to be dragged into a hole by paws. He attempted to scream yet no sound came. The scene once again changed, this time he was in the city reliving the pain of starvation he felt at that time.

He saw the cat who saved his life and watched as he struggled to cut off his collar with a dog tooth only to get it stuck. The creation of BloodClan and the day Tigerstar came to him for help, Scourge agreed to it not knowing this Tigerstar was the one who hurt him those moons ago. He saw as Firestar told everyone the deeds Tigerstar had done and Scourge then realized who Tigerstar was and exacted his revenge.

"He deserved it"

Next was the Battle of BloodClan, he was fighting Firestar and managed to kill him, at least he thought.

'_But I killed you_'

'_You did, but I have the nine lives of a true leader! Granted by StarClan_'

The pain came as Firestar killed Scourge and once again paws dragged him into the abyss but this time someone was waiting for him.

"Son, do you know who killed you," a ginger tom said

"Firestar, no it is impossible" Scourge growled as he attempted to attack the ginger cat.

"No, I am Jake, your father," Jake mewed with soft eyes before they grew stern and distant, "Firestar is also my son, your roles could have been switched so easily if Firestar was rejected by Thunderclan and you were accepted by them."

Scourge was angered by this, "Firestar can't be my brother! You are just a figment of my mind!"

"Well he's actually your half-brother, but that doesn't matter," Jake put his paw onto Scourge's paw, "Firestar saw that your roles could have been switched when he fought you, but he didn't know your connection."

"Firestar is a Clan cat! He would have to have been a kittypet before if he..."

"He WAS a kittypet before he joined ThunderClan, and I believe if you choose to repent and tell him about me he would be glad to help you," the ginger cat let go of his paw and walked over to a light, "Choose to repent and you have another chance, or choose to be consumed by your own darkness and stay here suffering and reliving your past."

"I don't ever want that to happen again, so I guess I only have one choice," Scourge growled quietly, "I will repent for the things I did."

"We are glad you chose that decision, all three of us," tears fell down his face as he recognized the voice, one of the only two cats who ever showed him kindness.

Bluestar came up and touched her nose with Scourges head, "This cat has shown he deserves a second chance at life, so we give you a life of remorse. It is done Scourge, yet you have much work to do!"

Scourge groaned as his vision faded to black and he felt his body once again.


	3. Chapter 2: Brothers

Scourge woke in in a pool of his own blood to see he was once again on the former battlefield. Mind foggy from the blood coming from his chest, he pushed forward by ignoring the pain he looked around. The grass was stained red and the trees had slashes from missed attacks from both sides with some tufts of fur scattered around. The bodies that surrounded the small black tom were all of his former clan, some he could recognize their bodies while the rest were wounded beyond compare. Scourge searched for his deputy's body to see nearby was one clan cat, the one who only fought on the side of BloodClan just to kill Firestar. Scourge let him join only so he could keep an eye on the dark-furred tom who Scourge remembered was named Darkstripe, one of Tigerstar's devoted followers.

Scourge limped over to a tree and used it to support his body. His mind rushed with the sight he had before he woke up, "It had to of been a stupid dream when I close my eyes this nightmare will be over right?"

"It is not a dream Scourge, neither was your agreement to repent," a stary spotted she-cat who Scourge could swear smelt sweeter than flowers purred, "I am Spottedleaf, a warrior of StarClan, but in life, I was a medicine cat of ThunderClan during the time your brother first joined the clans."

"Yay," Scourge mewed sarcastically in response to Spottedleaf who continued giving Scourge a gentle yet serious look.

Spottedleaf gestured her tail, "Nearby there is a cat who will help heal you, StarClan cannot fully heal wounds, we can only ease them and stop infections in them."

"If I refuse?"

"Like I would let a cat die in front of me, especially when they...nevermind," Spottedleaf padded over to the forest as Scourge grumbled under his breath, "She should be gathering herbs to restock after the battle a few days ago, you will know when you see her."

Spottedleaf lead Scourge through the forest, her smell easing the pain he felt slightly as they passed tree and bushes before emerging into a clearing. In the clearing, a grey she-cat was digging up the root of some sort of herb, not noticing that Scourge was nearby. When the cat turned around and saw the black and white tom she had fear in her eyes, knowing who exactly Scourge was. Her eyes grew concerned when the she-cat saw the tom's injuries.

"Sc...Scourge...how are you alive?" the she-cat growled, "You made a great risk going into ThunderClan territory with those injuries if the dawn patrol found they would not be so kind."

"I don't quite understand why I'm alive either," Scourge admitted, "Why were you gathering herbs?"

"I am a medicine cat, I heal others," the grey cat responded as she carefully approached Scourge, "Camp is too far, I'm going to have to treat you right here and now, now where are the cobwebs I saw earlier"

Scourge was confused was this cat helping him, he looked the she-cat over and saw that she limped over to the other end of the clearing, '_I've seen cats with worse injuries fight, why didn't she attack me?_'

The she-cat returned with some cobwebs and some dry oak leaves and begun to chew the leaves into a poultice and applied it to the wounds on his chest and neck. She then wrapped the area with some cobwebs that seemed to help stop Scourge's wounds from bleeding. The she-cat was silent until, "I am Cinderpelt by the way, ThunderClan's medicine cat."

"Ow, I thought you were healing me!"

"If it hurts then it's working," the grey she-cat spat, "Now stop moving, do you want your wounds to get infected!"

The she-cat grabbed the root she dug and chewed it into a pulp and applied it to Scourge's wound, "Ouch, why are..hey! Why are you helping me?"

"I already said, I am a medicine cat and even if it may be an enemy cat I can't just leave them to die!"

"Must be a real pain when you fight."

"I don't fight, my job is to heal wounds not cause them!"

"Or are you too weak?" Scourge scoffed.

"I can fight, but I rather use my energy to heal the wounds or stop the fight from happening," Cinderpelt growled.

The she-cat finished her work, Scourge attempted to get up before the she-cat gently pushed him back down, "If you are done, I have things to attend so let me go!"

"I will not let you go off to make those injuries worse, a patrol will come by soon and that means more paws to help me bring you to camp to get better treatment," the she-cat's tone grew serious, "Firestar will decide what to do with you once I say you have fully recovered."

'_She is of ThunderClan if I don't want to anger these annoying ghosts I should just go along_,' Scourge thought to himself, '_I can't believe I have to do this._'

They waited for what felt like to Scourge a few moons until a ThunderClan patrol came along with a ginger tom who Scourge knew too well by now in the lead.

"Cinderpelt, the whole camp is worried sick, and..." Firestar's glare fell upon Scourge, "What did you do to her!"

"Firestar, this is Scourge's blood he didn't raise a single claw on me while I was treating his wounds," Cinderpelt pleaded, "I couldn't just leave him here to die of blood loss when he was still alive!"

"Scourge is our enemy Cinderpelt, he could have hurt you or worse," Firestar scolded Cinderpelt, "You are ThunderClan's only medicine cat, we can't afford to lose you!"

Scourge observed the rest of the patrol, a brown tabby that looked like Tigerstar caught his attention first as he mistook the young tom for the tabby murderer. He looked away and spotted a grey tom with a dark grey stripe on his back, recognizing the tom as the one who killed Darkstripe, '_I got to thank that cat for getting that obnoxious tom what he deserved._'

Scourge was brought back from his thoughts as he heard Firestar yowl his name, "Scourge, I hope you can explain why you didn't just go back to where you came from."

"Why don't you run back to your twolegs, Rusty?" Scourge mocked, "Did your daddy never tell you about his other mate or was he also not there in your life!"

"You are not answering my question," Firestar meowed, "And how do you even know about that?"

"I answered your question, I thought that Jake would have told you about how his son, Tiny disappeared one day," Scourge growled, "I should have noticed how much you look like Jake before, you are the spitting image of my...our father!"


	4. Chapter 3: Decisions

Firestar looked at Scourge, '_Is he being serious right now? there is no way I am related to him._' Scourge got off the ground, never leaving Firestar's gaze while he came closer to the ginger tom.

"That is beside the point, you are just one reason I am here," Scourge gave a cringed look as he turned his face from Firestar, "I...I want to join your clan."

Greystripe was the first to respond with a witty remark, "Haha, now that is funny, Scourge a Thunderclan warrior. He can't really be your brother Firestar," Greystripe crept slowly towards Scourge, "He is a murderer, no different than Tigerstar!"

Scourge arched his back and hissed, "I am nothing like that rotten cat!" his tone and expression showed that he was offended from Greystripe's remark, "I have hated that cat longer than you might think."

Firestar stopped paying attention to the argument, his mind was already whirling with the thoughts on what Scourge told him. His father told him about his old mate during the few times he was even there to help his mother, Nutmeg, with his siblings. The worst thoughts although, were about his fight with Scourge. If Scourge really was his brother and Firestar did kill him, 'I almost killed my own brother.'

Sandstorm noticed the ThunderClan leader's silence, "Firestar, you okay?"

Scourge looked at Firestar with an unreadable expression, yet it lacked the malice the tom saw when Scourge declared war against the clans. Sandstorm stepped between the two toms before Firestar could notice the spotted she-cat behind Scourge.

"Firestar, you can't really be thinking about what Scourge just said right?" the sandy she-cat asked.

"Honestly, Sandstorm, what he says makes sense," Firestar whispered to his mate, "Jake had two mates, and he did lose a kit that made him want to be there for my littermates."

"You can't be serious!" Sandstorm snarled, "The only way we can prove it is if one of our kits has one white paw like him!"

"Are you two done, I need to get him to camp to finish treating him!" Cinderpelt interrupted, "You can decide what to do with him after he recovers!"

Firestar and Sandstorm looked over at Scourge before Sandstorm turned away with a deep sigh. Firestar went closer to his possible brother and leaned into his ear, "Even though you may be my brother, I won't hesitate to do anything to protect my clan. You will stay as a prisoner until I see you can be trusted in the clan, just don't expect a warm welcome."

Firestar ordered the patrol to return to camp, carrying Scourge with them, the treck felt longer than usual with Scourge being carried by Sandstorm and Greystripe. It was already moonrise when they arrived in camp.

That night, Cinderpelt got Scourge situated in her den while Firestar kept a close eye on his every move on their way. The camp was, for the most part, asleep, Firestar couldn't sleep. He looked into silver pelt, asking for answers to his questions.

A sweet scent soon filled the area around Firestar who recognized it as Spottedleaf's right away, her eyes shone with love and longing. The two had feelings for each other and even though Spottedleaf accepted his love for Sandstorm, the feelings between the two cats were unchanged.

"Spottedleaf, what am I supposed to do?"

"Trust your heart, Firestar," Spottedleaf purred, "You are fire, the fire to save the clans."

"My heart tells me to give my "brother" a chance, but everything else tells me otherwise," Firestar sighed deeply, "I could have killed my brother, but I ask how is he alive?"

Spottedleaf's gazed into Firestar's eyes, "The fire must not fear the frost's grasp," she continued, "For the frost brings the newleaf."

Firestar pondered over her words as the calico she-cat turned and left. '_Was that wisdom, or a prophecy?' _the tom asked himself. He curled up in his nest with Sandstorm and at last fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning the first thing the Thunderclan leader did was check on Cinderpelt and Scourge. The tom was groaning about having to depend on others while Cinderpelt treated the wound on his chest. Firestar held back a smirk, remembering how Cinderpelt fussed over him after he lost his first of his nine lives.

"What are you looking at?" Scourge growled as he met Firestar's gaze, "Do you enjoy watching cats get tortured by plants?"

Cinderpelt's fur fluffed up when she heard Scourge's comment, "If it hurts then it means its working! Do you want that wound getting infected, its a miracle that it hasn't already!"

Firestar purred in amusement, "I remember Yellowfang having a similar, although a bit sharper, tongue, she taught that to you I guess."

"Well this cat just keeps squirming when I try to treat him, I am all out of patience with him!"

Scourge rolled his eyes, "So what are you in here for?"

"I have made my decision, you will be allowed to join Thunderclan..." Firestar mewed, Scourge was about to reply but Firestar continued, "You will start as an apprentice, but if you pull any tricks then you will go back to Twolegplace."

"Thank you, Firestar," Scourge replied half-heartedly.

Firestar knew his clanmates will not be too pleased with his decision, but he learned from training Bramblepaw that he should give others a chance even if this cat did cause the bloody battle. Firestar climbed onto the Highrock and called a clan meeting.

"All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the highrock for a Clan meeting" Firestar yowled, his clanmates gathered below him soon after with Cinderpelt and Scourge poking their heads out of the medicine cat den.

"Is that...Scourge"

"Why is that piece of fox-dung here?"

"How is he alive?"

Firestar heard the words, he forgot to tell the clan that Scourge was here the night before so their words were understood, "You must be wondering why Scourge is here, for the moment he is our prisoner and will be watched carefully. He wishes to join our clan, but he must earn our trust."

"You are letting that murder join?" Bramblepaw hissed in disbelief. Longtail pushed his way forward to state his objections soon after.

"He was the leader of BloodClan, he took one of your nine lives!" Longtail spat, "He knew about Tigerstar's plan with the dogs, the plan that got MY apprentice, Swiftpaw, killed!"

Other cats joined in the toms' disagreement stating why Scourge should be killed.

Firestar looked over at Scourge who looked down at his paws his expression remorseful, the Thunderclan leader was told to follow his heart and that was exactly what he would do.

"Scourge will start as an apprentice, but until he can be trusted he will remain within the camp," Firestar hoped he wouldn't regret this as he started the apprentice ceremony, "...until the day you earn your warrior name you will be known as Frostpaw, you will train alongside Bramblepaw with me."


End file.
